Flyers

[chkunz]

I see a lot of folks doing load development and they are reporting on three or five shot groups. Many times they identify a shot out of the group as a flyer. Sometime when you get one of these flyers, keep shooting more shots, ten, twenty shots or more and see what happens. You do not have to tell anyone about the results but just think about what the data is telling you.

 

[danny]

So, Are you saying that the groups (data) before and after the flyer are what you should rely on? I have these issues sometimes when I am shooting really great groups. I am not a really great bench shooter like most of you are, so I know that this is generally my fault, though not every time can I call these wild shots when they happen. Lately I have, in the case of really great groups, been calling it my fault and using the info. from the good shots. When the groups are generally not so good, I start to consider more, or all of the worse shots to be a product of a non-optimum load.

Danny

 

[Lapua40X]

It's amazing how something as seemingly insignificant as neck tension, type of primer or even case capacity can dramatically affect the performance of a load. When I was shooting bench rest I meticulously checked every aspect of the loads and matched them as perfectly as possible. Now that I participate in less disciplined forms of shooting (they don't need to pass through the same hole any more) I find that "flyers" are more frequent than they used to be. But I'm having more fun.

 

[Mozella]

Unless there is an accidental discharge, such as a round cooking off in the chamber, or unless the guy next to you shoots your target, those so-called flyers are part of your group. Ignore them if you want, but then you can't claim to be collecting data; at this point you're just plinking.

 

[Lapua40X]

Unless there is an accidental discharge, such as a round cooking off in the chamber, or unless the guy next to you shoots your target, those so-called flyers are part of your group. Ignore them if you want, but then you can't claim to be collecting data; at this point you're just plinking.

http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=9&n=6

 

[Shynloco]

IMHO, flyers have been a mystery to many shooters for a very long time. But truth is, there are several factors that cause "flyers", some of which have been previously pointed out. Even the sequence of the flyer in a string, can tell you something about your load. Obviously if a shooter "calls" a "flyer," that shot needs to be identified and marked so the remaining string(s) gets the analysis it/they deserve. I've never thought much of three round testing, unless the first three shots look as though they were fired from a shotgun. But a five shot group also tells you about the load, the shooter and the rifle itself. When all three are in harmony, is when you get that illusive one ragged hole @ 100 yds. When not, then the search begins for which of the three "is out of step." Just my .02 worth.

Alex

 

[CharlieNC]

I shoot Fclass, which is different in that a match is typically a 20 shot string. You cannot get lucky and beat the odds whereby dismissing a flyer gets you anything trouble. Yes load development is successful with only a shot or two when doing a ladder. When training and evaluating finer points I shoot 10 shots in which case it is straight forward to determine if a flyer is real, or really just a realistic member of true capability. That is to say if you frequently shoot flyers, they are not flyers but reflect what is expected.